


Wrong Side of Heaven

by Alice_Paige



Series: The Wrong Side of Heaven and The Righteous Side of Hell [1]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Crossover, Crossover Pairings, Daminette, F/M, dont come for me, i have no idea what im doing, i know nothing about DCU, itll all show up in the next one, no romance / ship stuff in this story, this will totally be daminette
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-03
Updated: 2020-11-03
Packaged: 2021-03-08 18:55:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 10,549
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27371518
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alice_Paige/pseuds/Alice_Paige
Summary: The Batfam's arrival in Paris as told through the eyes of each person. They were here to help Ladybug defeat Hawkmoth but perhaps they can save another in the process.
Relationships: Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug/Damian Wayne
Series: The Wrong Side of Heaven and The Righteous Side of Hell [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2004058
Comments: 35
Kudos: 400
Collections: Maribat





	1. Chapter 1 - Bruce

**Author's Note:**

> Alright so some how Ive reappeared from beyond the grave to write this. I fell into the rabbit hole of Maribat fics and decided id write something even though i know absolutely nothing about the DCU or Batman in general. I've tried to do some research but honestly I'm mostly winging it so don't hope for anything related to accuracy when it come to being in character.
> 
> This is basically a huge set up for something else I'm planning to write. The companion fic (if I ever get around to writing it) will be called Righteous Side of Hell. 
> 
> Also I'm not really sure who started this trend or anything but in case it needs to be stated obviously this isn't a new idea through I've tried to stray away from the recurring themes Ive seen in the fics Ive read so apologies if it seems too out of character.
> 
> ***Currently I am working on the sequel. It wont be posted until ive completed the entire fic so please be patient <3***

Bruce was by no means an amazing father; he’d made questionable decisions but at the end of the day he was father to four amazing young men. Each with their own personalities, strengths, and weaknesses. Perhaps that was why when walking through a park in Paris he couldn’t just keep walking when he heard the small sniffles of a child. He cautiously approached the young lady. She sat with her knees drawn up to her chest, head bowed, shoulders hunched. She looked, in all honesty, pitiful. He could hear her shaking breaths as she tried to shove down the emotions, he’d heard the same small sniffles come from the bedrooms of his sons when they thought no one else in the manor was awake. It was a sound that broke his heart a thousand times over and never got any easier to hear.

“Excuse me, I don’t mean to intrude, are you alright?” He stood a few feet away from her not imposing on her space. She looked startled and quickly hopped up from the bench wiping at her tear stained face.

“Oh yes! I’m very sorry if I’ve disturbed your evening Monsieur.” She gave a blinding smile one that didn’t match with the few tears that still trickled from her eyes. A beautiful façade that would have been enough to fool anyone else. Bruce only had to look at her eyes to see the hurt that still lingered even if she smiled so widely.

“Its no bother, in fact I was only out for a walk to clear my head.” Bruce gave her a small smile; it wasn’t normally an expressing seen on his face, but he hoped the small gesture would provide her a bit of comfort.

“Ah well, it is a lovely night for a walk, soon it’ll be cold for a stroll, winter is coming fast this year.” She looked up at sky and gave a small smile. It was obvious that a smile was meant to be upon her face. It suited her much better than tears.

“If I may, would you be opposed to some company for a bit?” He still stood a comfortable distance but gestured to the bench she’d just jumped off in her haste to hide her tears.

She gave a sad smile this time, and politely nodded before taking her seat again, “If you don’t mind me asking, where are you from? Your accent is familiar, but I can’t seem to place it.”

“Gotham City, New Jersey in America.” He politely stepped forward and joined her on the bench making sure to keep his distance, so she didn’t feel caged in. “If you don’t mind me asking a question of my own,” A small nod from her kept him speaking, “what happened? A young lady like yourself should hardly be out this late on her own.” Bruce was cautious, even if he was a long way from Gotham crime existed everywhere in the world.

“It’s not much of a story really, I got into an argument with my parents and just needed to get away for a moment.” With a small frown she shook her head, no doubt trying to shake off any more unpleasant thoughts. “I know this area better than the back of my hand. I grew up here and I’m more than capable of taking care of myself.”

“Ah yes I suppose as parents sometimes our kids do need a break from us.”

She giggled, “Yes I suppose we do. You have children?”

“Yes, four boys, a rowdy bunch, my youngest is about your age, and my oldest already has a family of his own. There are several girls who are just as good as my daughters by this point.” 

“Your home must be lively, I’m an only child, Maman and papa wanted to focus on their dreams.” Although she’d listened with a small smile as he talked about his own kids, the frown was quickly back on her face.

“Can I ask you something, as a parent I mean.” Bruce nodded, “Do you trust your sons?”

“I do. Sometimes I worry but at the end of the day I have to believe they’ve been around enough good influences to do good in the world.”

“Maman and Papa don’t trust me anymore.” She gave him a small smile and drew her legs back up to her chest leaning back looking towards the sky, “there’s a girl in my class who keeps telling lies. She’s made my life miserable for two years and she’s got the school wrapped around her little finger. Of course, she targets me, and the school calls my parents, and they’re fed up. I don’t blame them. Two years of my word against hers and they’re tired of hoping that one day it’ll all go away.”

Bruce gave a scowl, liars were always the worst of the bunch, he had seen many a man who’d lie just to achieve something. “Then your parents should have done more to help you, if this girl is as bad as you say then someone has already caught her in a lie and done nothing. All liars slip up in the end. Have you considered changing schools?”

“Some people have already noticed that she’s lying but they do nothing. They don’t want to believe that lying can hurt anyone. I’m the only person she targets regularly, since no one else will stand up they all just fall into line and get wrapped up in her tales.” With a sigh she nods, “I have, but my parents as profitable as their business is, don’t make the money to send me to the only private institution in the area. I know its only a year more but I’m not sure I can handle it anymore. Paris used to bring me such joy as my home but now its tainted by the knowledge that I’m on my own here.”

Bruce had to keep himself from getting angry, he wasn’t the best parent, but his sons knew they were never alone. The family fought for one another and although things were strained and uncertain at times, they all relied on each other to help when needed. This girl, he hadn’t even asked her name yet, was alone. She felt abandoned in her home and he saw the hunch in her shoulders that spoke of a weight greater than the average teenagers. He seen that weight almost crush his sons’ shoulders when they felt alone, but thankfully he’d always found a way to help them share the burden even if it wasn’t with him.

“What about an exchange program? If you truly would want to leave Paris, it’s a good first step. The institute my son goes to has a wonderful track record and they often see students from other countries.”

“Another country? I hadn’t considered it. I haven’t even considered leaving Paris in the last few years. There’s to many responsibilities here for me to take care of.”

Bruce continued to frown; he didn’t know what else there was to say. He wasn’t her father. As much as he wanted to whisk her away and give her something solid to cling too, she was no orphan that needed adopting.

“Thank you. I feel much better. I appreciate you listening. It was nice to have an adult believe me again,” This time her smile was reflected in her eyes, and he could see that her future would be bright. Even with so much negativity she managed to smile so brilliantly.

He gave a hum in acknowledgement; his mind was miles away trying and failing to see a solution to a problem that wasn’t his.

“Well then I hope you have a wonderful night Monsieur.” She was quickly up and off the bench giving him a smile and wave before disappearing out of the park with no more than a trace. Alfred was going to have his head for letting a young women disappear on her own at night, but she was simply gone and if he didn’t know any better he’d have thought she was a hallucination with how quickly she disappeared. He stood and glared at the ground, he’d never asked her name and in the darkness barely managed to make out any discernible features, maybe he could have Tim pull any security footage of local businesses to find her again. He couldn’t stand idly by while a child suffered. He strode out of the park and back in the direction of his hotel still unable to shake the sight of her broke soul that lingered behind tear filled eyes. She needed help, and perhaps she wouldn’t appreciate his meddling, but he could hardly leave the situation alone, especially when she reminded him of his own sons.


	2. Chapter 2 - Tim

Tim was annoyed. He’d spent most of the night looking for some girl Bruce had met last night. He’d pulled all the camera footage and either she was the luckiest girl alive or she was more skilled than Bruce picked up on. Not a single camera caught her face, a few frames here and there caught a side profile or a shoulder but nothing distinctive. The most Tim was able to give Bruce was confirmation on what he already knew, she was petite, had dark hair, and was on the shorter side. Bruce hummed and thanked him this morning when he left for his meeting with the Mayor. They were arranging meeting to see about opening a new branch in Paris while they worked towards the main reason for their visit.

The whole reason they were here was to investigate claims of a villain who went by the name “Hawkmoth” but so far, they had seen nothing. Not glimpses of the famed heroes, or the akumas. At this point they were convinced that the video they’d seen was doctored footage. Some of the best editing Tim had ever seen but edited none the less. In fact, he had spent the last several days living off coffee and whatever food Alfred brought him trying to find anything that could be a lead. Unfortunately, all he’d found was the ladyblog, it seemed to have more of the edited footage, with strange villains and the same recurring heroes, it almost read like a children’s show website. There were interviews and stories about a girl named “Lila” who claimed to be the superheroes best friend but the superhero wasn’t a very good one if she’d managed to let her best friend announce to the world how to bait her.

He pushed away from his laptop and dropped his head into his hands. He could feel a headache coming on, and he probably needed a good few hours of sleep but he was determined to find something, anything, to give Bruce before he came back from his meeting today.

“Alfred, I’m going for a walk. I’ll be back shortly.” He grabbed his phone and wallet off the table and dashed out the door. He didn’t want to suffer through Alfred telling him to get some sleep. He’d made his way out the doors of the hotel lobby. Thankfully, the Wayne’s, although still a household name, were less recognizable in Paris than in Gotham. He slid in easily with the crowd as they rushed to get to their destinations. Thankfully, he’d managed to stumble upon a nearby coffee shop that was relatively empty.

“Hello, can I get whatever you have that has the most caffeine in it?” Tim wasn’t the most eloquent especially when he’s running on so little sleep. He handed over his card no idea what he had just ordered but if it kept him awake for a few more hours he’d be happy.

He’d just barely stepped out of the way when he heard the bell jingle behind him. He saw the barista glance up before greeting the new customer, “Hey Mari, your usual?”

“Yes please, can you make it a double?” came the soft voice from the doorway.

Tim watched as the barista quickly rang in the order not even flinching as she read back the order, “Black coffee with 4 shots of espresso. Long day ahead of you?”

“You have no idea, maybe I need to look into a way to inject caffeine into my veins, at this point I think all my blood has transitioned to coffee anyway.” Tim couldn’t help the scoff he let out at that. If only, he would have done that years ago.

“Ah a fellow insomniac, tell me what’s your poison today?”

“No idea just whatever has the most caffeine in it.” Tim shrugged and glanced to his right where the girl now stood waiting for her own drink. She was a tiny thing, barely 5 foot if he would hazard a guess.

She gave him a tired smile and lapsed into a comfortable silence while they both waited on their drinks. His came moments before her own and without hesitation he took a long slip relishing in the burn of coffee down his throat. She followed suit with a small grimaced as she tasted the bitter brew.

“I prefer my coffee with sugar and cream but there’s no room for anything sweet when you need to stay awake as long as I need too.” She frowned at her coffee and took another drink.

“it’s the sacrifice we insomniacs make to stay awake,” Tim gave her smile finally focusing on her face. The coffee was finally waking up his brain, “now if only I could get my work done, I could get some real sleep.” Without thinking Tim walked to a table and plopped into the chair cradling his own coffee close hoping the strong scent would help wake him even more.

“What are you working on?” She’d followed suit patiently standing near his table allowing the conversation to continue.

“Well it’s more of a personal project I suppose apparently Paris has a super villain and heroes, but I can’t seem to find anything about them in the news.”

She gave a grim nod, “That’s on order of the mayor, Paris thrives on tourism and if word got out that it was so dangerous here then people would stop coming. Thankfully, Ladybug’s cure fixes everything but the order keeps any news coverage from being recorded or stored only aired live. They can’t limit what people post privately but it is considered in bad taste to post about it. Not many people even talk about it anymore.”

Tim stared at the young women in shock, seriously the entire city had helped to cover up a super villain and hadn’t reached out to anyone else for help? “How come the city has never reached out to anyone else for help. The world has so many heroes now, surely someone can help?”

“I suppose but Hawkmoth preys on emotions. If someone, hero or not, was to gets a little too angry or sad they’re in danger. I don’t think Paris could handle an akumatized hero. Not again.”

“Again?”

“No one really remembers exactly what happened, I think only Ladybug is the one who truly remembers what happened, but she benched Chat Noir nearly two years ago after he became akumatized. He appears here and there when he’d needed but he’s as temporary as any of the other miraculous holders, though even they are retired now.”

“Wait there’s more heroes than just the two of them?”

“There were but not anymore¸ all the heroes were exposed during a fight with Hawkmoth, he caused a lot of destruction that day, and ruined more lives that he could’ve imagined. Only Ladybug and Chat Noir still have their identities still hidden. No one talks about it because its considered rude to talk about the former heroes’ identities. Hopefully, no one outside of Paris will ever know, it keeps them safe from other villains.”

A chime from the girl’s phone made her curse and chug the rest of her coffee. She quickly tossed the now empty cup into the nearby bin, “Sorry I’m running late, have a nice day!” With that she was gone the only trace was the bell that lightly rang again as she disappeared out onto the street.

Tim sat there for a few more minutes, in a 20 minutes conversation he’d learned more about the city than he had in the last four days. It would take some digging, but he would find more proof. If Ladybug truly was alone, he could only imagine how heavy the burden on her shoulders. He managed to juggle his own responsibilities because he had his family to help shoulder them. The footage hed been able to catch glimpses of made Ladybug seem no older than Damian. She may not believe she needs help, but they certainly weren’t going to leave her to fight on her own.

Tim drank the last of his coffee, tossing his own trash, and hurrying back towards the hotel. First, he would get some sleep, and then he’d be back at it. 


	3. Chapter 3 - Dick

Dick was more annoyed with his father than he had been in a while. Bruce had called earlier asking if he could hop the next flight over to Paris. He needed help tracking down Ladybug, apparently the situation was worse than they’d thought. Tim had heard that apparently Ladybug was on her own, no back up, and they hardly found anything in the two weeks they had already been in Paris. Bruce was meant to be headed back in Gotham in less than two days. His cover of meetings to begin to establish a new branch was coming to an end, Bruce was forced to hand the investigation over to his sons.

Dick was glad to help but being pulled away from his own family and responsibilities was frustrating none the less. When his plane touched down in Paris, he patiently waited to disembark with the other first-class passengers. He hailed a taxi and directed them to Le Grand Paris where his brothers and father had been staying the last two weeks. Jason was napping on the couch, he’d been hard at work tracking down Ladybug, but she was harder to catch than most people. She had an advantage of knowing Paris better than any of them. Anytime she noticed any of the batfam following her she quickly disappeared, none of them had even managed to get close to her, and that was saying something. Bruce was hoping with Dick’s acrobatic training he might be able to catch up to her.

He disappeared into one of the bedrooms and curled up to sleep, it was already 3am in Paris and the fastest way to get past the jet lag was to get on the same schedule as everyone else. He quickly changed and forced himself into bed.

He felt like he had barely slept before Alfred was knocking at the door offering breakfast. Dick blearily made his way out to the dining room, seeing Bruce, Tim and Jason already awake and eating. Damian had been left back in Gotham much to his displeasure, but they didn’t have a feasible excuse to get the younger man out of school for such a long period. They could only use the excuse for a family emergency so many times.

“Dick, thank you for coming on such short notice.” Bruce gave him a grateful nod.

“Of course,” Dick may not have loved leaving his wife, but he was glad to once again be with his family. “What should we be focused on first?”

Tim chugged an entire cup of coffee quietly thanking Alfred for the refill before speaking, “Tonight you and Jason are gonna see if your able to catch up with Ladybug, in the meantime your free to do whatever you’d like. We’re hoping to finally establish contact with her, but so far, we haven’t had any luck. You’ve already been briefed with all the intel we have.”

Jason gave an eye roll. Dick knew he wasn’t sold on the idea of helping Ladybug. He’d tried to talk them out of it several times. Jason was convinced she was hiding something since she kept running from them.

Dick wasn’t so convinced, if she’d never worked with anyone outside of a few partners, who were now retired, she may not realize she can trust other people. Hopefully, Dick would finally be able to reach her. Tim and Bruce left first, they headed to the final few meetings that they would attend this week before Bruce returned to Gotham. Tim would stay behind as Co-CEO he would oversee the plans on moving forward with a new branch for Wayne Enterprises. Jason disappeared shortly after the others without so much as a word.

Dick left the hotel as well, he figured wandering around was better than just sitting in the room all day. Maybe at some point he’d take a nap and get rid of the last traces of his jet lag. He was aimlessly walking hoping to find something to pique his interest. Paris, like Gotham, was a busy city as he got swept up in the tide of people making their ways, he ended up bumping into a young woman.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to bump into you.” He quickly reached out and steadied the younger woman. He watched as she beamed and opened her mouth to retort, her reply quickly cut off by someone speaking loudly from nearby.

“Oh, look Marinette’s throwing herself at an older man! I can’t believe she’s still trying to make Adrien jealous.” Dick whipped around to see a group of several teens huddled around a girl wearing possibly too much orange as they all rolled their eyes and whispered rude things among themselves.

The small woman ripped her arm away as if she’d been burned, before quickly turning and walking away faster than Dick had expected.

He used his height too his advantage and quickly caught up with her smaller steps, “Excuse me miss, I’m sorry if I put you in an unpleasant position.”

She stopped and gave a heavy sigh causing him to stumble under his own momentum, “It’s alright, she’s pretty horrid all the time unfortunately.”

“Then I’m even more sorry, if you like I can go back and defend your honor!” Dick gave an exaggerated bow and smiled at her.

“And what makes you think I need defending?” She came him a bright smile, delivering her words with a playful sass.

“Well you are pretty short,” He reached his hand up to her height then moving it up to his own and gave a shrug. “I don’t think you’d even be able to reach the top shelf much less fight someone.”

She scoffed, “Well as true as that may be, you don’t need to reach the top shelf to fight someone. Never underestimate someone smaller than you.”

Dick grinned, “Oh don’t I know it, my younger brother was deadly even before his growth spurt. Now he’s just as deadly but with a longer reach.”

She stuck her hand out for him to shake, “I’m Marinette, pleasure to meet you.”

“Richard, but you can call me Dick.” He reached out and shook her hand, “Again sorry for bumping into you earlier. I got lost in my thoughts and haven’t shaken off all the jetlag yet.”

“Well then I’m sorry you had to encounter Lila so early in you journey here.” She gave an eyeroll and gestured back in the direction of the group from earlier.

“Was she the one making such rude comments?”

Marinette frowned, “She usually just makes insinuations rather than saying things out right, but it certainly doesn’t stop her from always trying to get in a jab at me.” 

“Well I suppose you’ll just have to make it up to me, care to show me around a bit? I mean if you have the time.”

“Well since it would be a shame to leave you all alone after such a horrid interaction, I’ll just have to clear a little of my schedule to entertain you.” The playful sass was back and so was the smile. Dick preferred her having a smile, a frown didn’t suit her.

They spent the next few hours walking around Paris, she acted as a personal tour guide, and showed Dick as many unknown areas as possible. They bantered back and forth; her wit was as sharp as any of his brothers. Hopefully, Bruce never met her, or he would be tempted to adopt her on the spot.

“By chance you aren’t an orphan, are you?”

She raised an eyebrow at the odd question, “No, as independent as I am, I do have parents. Should I be worried about being kidnapped?”

With a smile Dick responded, “No I just needed to make sure, My father is know for being a serial adopter, and if he ever meets you I don’t doubt he’d be tempted to adopt you on the spot. I can’t say I’d mind you’d make an awesome little sister!” 

“Well I can’t be adopted but you can claim me as an honorary sister. I’m an only child, so it would be fun to have a sibling or two.”

“Then at some point I’ll introduce you to them, I’m sure they’d appreciate having someone new around. We tend to try and kill each other if were left together for too long.”

Marinette reached into her bag and pulled out a phone, “Here then you can put your number in and let me know if they’d ever want to meet me.”

Dick quickly input his own number saving his contact name as ‘The Favorite Brother’, she gave a giggle at the contact name and shot off a quick text to his number. “There now you have my number as well. It was fun taking you on a tour of Paris, let me know if you need a local for anything. I’ll catch you later!”

The sun was starting to get low in the sky making it a good time to head back to the hotel, he hadn’t even noticed it getting so late into the evening. Pulling his phone out he saved the unknown number into his contacts as ‘short stack’. Tucking the device back into his pocket he quickly strode towards the hotel. He needed a nap before trying to catch Ladybug later tonight.

That night Dick found himself jumping across rooftops hoping to see a glimpse of red running across the skyline. He was almost ready to circle back towards the hotel and meet up with Red Hood when he spotted her jumping across from one building to the next. Picking up his pace he made more daring leaps across the gaps, he was determined to catch up to her.

“Hey wait! Excuse me!” So maybe it wasn’t the most tactful, but he did get her to stop for a moment before she was bounding across buildings faster than before. At one point she completely disappeared when Dick got close to her until her looked down to see a small alcove Marinette had pointed out earlier. He dropped down into it to find her catching her breath, no doubt waiting for him to run past before she doubled back.

“Hey that tour came in handy earlier!” Dick cheerily stated making her jump. She turned to keep running but he reached out and grabbed her arm keeping her from leaving. “Hey, I just want to talk, no one is here to hurt you.” He let go of her wrist as soon as he finished speaking and took a step back hands up in a soothing gesture. It wouldn’t do him any good to force her to stay but he was hoping she’d be willing to talk.

“You shouldn’t be here! If Hawkmoth finds out you are here then he will try to find a way to make you emotions run wild, I cannot fight another hero.”

“I mean technically were vigilantes,” he quickly kept talking as she sent him a glare, “but I get your point. Look we’re just trying to help. We heard Paris had a villain and since we couldn’t find anything we came to investigate. We didn’t know you were on your own.”

“I’m not on my own, I have Chat Noir, he’s my partner.”

Dick gave her a skeptic look, “No offense kid but none of us have seen anyone but you patrol, and we’ve been trying to catch up with you for almost two weeks. Either Chat Noir is really slacking or you’re on your own.”

“I’m not a kid, I’m already 17, and I’ll turn 18 soon enough! I don’t need to justify where Chat is to you. You have no jurisdiction here, and I’m politely asking you to leave.” She crossed her arms over her chest and huffed.

“Yeah alright fair enough. I’m sorry for calling you a kid and insulting your partner. I know you’ve been handling this on your own for a while. Look we can help even if we’re not in the city. We just want to offer what help we can.” Dick frowned Ladybug reminded him too much of Damian when he had first come to live with Bruce, he’d insist that he could handle everything on his own and struggled asking for help.

Ladybug’s face softened and for a moment she hesitated, “Maybe some help would be appreciated, but I’d need to speak with my partner first. I won’t do anything he’s uncomfortable with. Give me a few days to speak with him. We can meet back here in 3 days. Until then lay low and don’t bring attention to yourselves. I don’t want to have to fight any of your team.”

“Thank you. Then I’ll leave you to your patrol.” Dick backed away and bounded off before speaking, “Red Robin, did you catch all of that?”

It was a moment before Tim’s voice was heard through the crackle of the comms, “Loud and clear Nightwing. Hurry back, Red hood is already here, I’ll catch everyone else up to speed. You did great.”

Dick beamed, maybe he’d be able to get back to Gotham sooner than he thought. He turned around and watched the small red dot that was Ladybug disappear in the opposite direction. Maybe it was better for him to be here though. She was only 17, not even an adult, yet here she was fighting in a four-year long war with no end in sight. He sighed and turned making his way back towards the hotel. At least they’d been able to offer some help. It was a start but he knew this was only the beginning.


	4. Chapter 4 - Jason

Jason was antsy. Ever since Dick had managed to contact Ladybug, they’d all been sitting around waiting for the days to pass, and they passed much to slowly for his tastes. By the second day he day he was so full of energy he was practically vibrating with frustration. Bruce’s flight had left early that morning, and he took Alfred with him, leaving only Dick and Tim to keep him entertained, and neither of them were helpful. Dick had started texting some girl that he kept referring to as their new little sister, though he never talked about her within ear shot of Bruce, no doubt worried he would start trying to adopt all the black hair blue eyed girls in Paris. Tim had told them all about the girl Bruce had met a few days after they’d arrived each of them took their over jabs at the man, joking about his serial adoptions, and promised to find the girl if only so he could have another kid to add to the list.

They both were chattering excited about possibly having a new sister at some point and Jason couldn’t stand it anymore. They hardly needed another person running around the Manor, at this point they should be focused on the mission, establishing help for Ladybug, and then leaving back to Gotham. He slipped out the door and took off aimlessly, maybe he could find a gym or something to burn off some energy.

He pulled out his phone and looked up a nearby gym. He found one that didn’t look half bad and hit the GPS to show him the way. His own French was rudimentary at best unless you wanted to hear every curse word he knew. Finally, he found the gym and walked inside hoping he’d be able to work out easily.

Today was just not his day, the receptionist didn’t speak any English and unless he wanted to know where the bathroom was or where the nearest restaurant was then he’d have to rely on his phone to translate. Grumbling to himself he started to type out what he wanted in google translate.

“Um, Excuse me,” He looked up toward the speaker of heavily accented English, “English is not my best. Do you need help?” Behind him stood a young woman with a gym bag slung over one shoulder.

Nodding he spoke, “Yeah I’m a tourist and I was just hoping to work out for a bit. I know my way around a gym.”

She gave a nod and turned to the receptionist who perked up and handed him a form and responded back in rapid French. “She says you need to sign.” She hesitated mumbling to herself in French before continuing, “I don’t know the word in English, but it is paper to say the gym is not responsible if you get hurt.”

“Waiver is the English word. Thanks.” He took the pen and quickly filled at the few fields he could read. At least he knew a few words like name, phone number, and signature. He handed it back hoping he’d filled out everything. The receptionist stood patiently waiting as she gave him a quick smile and typed something into her computer once she had the form back. She spoke again in French, waiting for the translation.

“Oh, she says there is a fee. Ah I’m sorry I don’t know the conversion for money, but it is 49 euro for the month.” Jason shrugged and handed over his card, not like he was strapped for cash, even if he did only need the gym for the day.

“Thanks for translating.” Jason took his card back and slid it back into his pocket.

“Welcome. It is good to practice my English.” He’d barely given he a glance just nodded, said thanks again and headed further into the gym to blow off some steam.

He started off by stretching and looking around the gym, a few people here and there mostly businessmen and women doing quick workouts before heading back to their hotels. He noticed the same girl from earlier doing more intense stretches, things that required more flexibility, in fact he’d seen Dick do several of those stretches before.

He refocused on his own work out, some weights, maybe even a spar if he could find someone willing to take him on. If not, they had a few speed bags in the corner that would give him a decent work out.

“Do you spar?” Jason jumped; he hadn’t even heard her approach. It was rare that someone was able to sneak up on him.

“Yeah, are you looking for someone to spar with you?” She nodded and gestured over to the sparing area that gym had set up.

“Yes please, I’m Marinette. Nice to meet you.” She led the way as he introduced himself. 

They each fell into their stances, sizing each other up, Jason was sure that he’d be able to take her with only a few moves. He struck first, moving with speed that most people wouldn’t be able to match. Marinette gracefully dodged and moved to strike him. They continued to strike and dodge without hitting each other before they each moved away. Jason was grinning like a fool; he hadn’t expected a challenge, but he was thrilled to spar with someone on a similar level.

Marinette threw him a smirk as she threw the first jab this time. She was ruthless. Her movements were quick and precise. They went around and around for a while landing small hits here and there but never enough to win the match.

Marinette backed up and laughed, “A break? I wasn’t expected such a long match.” She stepped off the mat and took a long drink from her water bottle.

“That was really amazing! When did you start learning?” Jason give his own huge grin right back. Maybe sitting around for a few days wasn’t so bad.

“Four years ago. With all the Akumas my parents thought I should know how to defend myself, and I agreed.” Jason was impressed, only four years of training and already she showed such discipline.

“You know I bet you’d even give my brothers a run for their money.” Jason could only imagine her fighting Dick. If she were anywhere near as flexible as Dick, they’d both be in for a long match.

“Why would their money run?” She gave him a confused look not understanding the colloquialism.

“Sorry, it means I bet you could match their skills, you’re talented.” Jason clarified. Her English was decent, but it was clear she’d never spoke with another native English speaker.

“Thank you!”

They both plopped down onto the gym floor still catching their breath. The silence between them was comfortable. Jason was reminded of Bruce’s quest to find the young lady for the other night, maybe it was wishful thinking, but he wouldn’t mind if Bruce managed to adopt the girl. “You don’t happen to be an orphan with a tragic back story, do you?”

Marinette giggle, “Unless you count normal teenage drama, no I don’t think my life is tragic and I definitely have parents. What is it lately with people asking if I can be adopted?”

“Oh man, my father is a serial adopter, he’ll absolutely want to adopt you. Jeez, just the other week he met a girl crying in the park and came back to tell all of us that he needed to help her.” Jason rolled her eyes. They all knew Bruce, as stoic as he appeared, was always willing to help a child in need.

She looked startled for a moment before speaking. “Well I suppose then he only wants to adopt one Parisian girl. Unless there was another teenage girl crying in a park late at night.”

Jason burst out laughing, “Oh man this is great! Now Bruce can adopt you or at least get shared custody with your parents. Then I’ll have a cool little sister. You’re way more interesting than my brother’s and I only just met you.” He hadn’t expected it to be her. Bruce was gonna flip when he learned the same girl was a great fighter too. If Jason didn’t know any better, he’d think somehow the Wayne’s luck was finally good for a change.

“I don’t think there’s a lot of girls crying in parks at night, though it is Paris so who truly knows. I didn’t get his name that night so it would be nice to thank him properly. Your father gave some good advice that night.” Marinette giggled.

Jason jumped up, “Well if you really want to meet my siblings, I say let’s go surprise them now. Hey maybe Bruce will let us return Demon Spawn to the store now!” He knew Bruce would never replace any of them. It was something Jason had to learn the hard way when he’d come back to see Bruce with a new Robin at his side. It had taken a long time to realize Bruce never replaced any of them, only made room for more wayward children.

Marinette stood shaking her head, “Unfortunately I can’t meet them today but another time perhaps?”

Jason deflated for a moment; he’d been looking forward to surprising all of them. The look on Tim’s face when he brought over the girl Bruce was looking for was going to be awesome. Tim hadn’t managed to find anything else about the girl, but he’d found her based on pure luck.

“Here, put your number in and we can figure out another time to surprise them, or even another time to spar!” Marinette passed her phone over with the screen displaying an entry for a new contact.

He quickly typed in his information and shot himself a text. He felt his own phone vibrate from his pocket, pulling it out and saving her number under ‘next on the adoption list’. He quickly showed her his screen, causing her to beam.

She typed on her own phone for a moment before showing him her own screen. His name now displayed ‘sparring partner’ with a boxing glove emoji next to his name. He walked out with her talking about when they might be able to surprise his brothers, and with a wave she was gone. Jason frowned as she walked away. He hadn’t pried, Alfred had taught them better than that, but she’d mentioned teenage drama, and Bruce had mentioned she talked about someone in her class spreading lies. He could help the feeling that for something to make a naturally cheerful person so upset it was worse than just some simple teenage drama. He supposed it was a new topic for Tim to research, but that could wait until after he’d surprised his brothers with their new little sister.


	5. Chapter 5 - Marinette

Marinette was feeling better than she had in years. Although they were tourists, and she knew they wouldn’t be in Paris forever it felt good to have friends again. It felt good to not have to worry about Lila at every turn or keeping her emotions buried from Hawkmoth. The only thing that concerned her was learning about vigilantes in her city. She’d avoided going out for a few nights after first spotting them hoping they were simply here on vacation and restless, but when she’d gone back to patrolling, they’d each tried to seek her out.

She’d managed to give them each the slip never letting them get to close. She’d carried her identity close to her heart ever since Master Fu had passed on Guardianship to her. Chat Noir was benched after his transformation into Chat Blanc. He didn’t remember much, or her identity, but he knew he’d been compromised, and with that knowledge he’d slowly withdrawn more into himself. Anytime she tried to encourage him to come back even just for patrols. He refused saying he wasn’t a hero; by giving into Hawkmoth he’d forfeited the title of hero. Chat had gone so far as to try and give his miraculous back, but she’d refused to take it, saying that it was safer for the moment with him. In the end she promised to look for a new Chat Noir, but she never could bring herself to see anyone as a potential black cat. All the temporary holders had lost their positions when Hawkmoth had used Chloe to expose everyone, and her heart still hadn’t healed from that betrayal.

“You should leave soon if you don’t want to keep Chat waiting.” Tikki softly spoke from where she was nestled into a pile of scrap fabric. Marinette quickly glanced up from her project and sighed. This wasn’t a conversation she was looking forward too. Although maybe it would finally convince Chat that his help really was needed. She called for her transformation and was headed off toward The Eiffel Tower. Tikki was right, Chat was already atop the tower, legs hanging over the end as he looked out over the city.

“Hey Chat, thanks for meeting me tonight.” She plopped herself down next to him and left herself think back to old times where they’d sit and talk for hours, about anything they could without sharing their identities. 

“Of course, M’lady, I saw some interesting news earlier, apparently some people have seen Batman around a few times.” He gave her a smile that made her heart clench. His smile was rare nowadays, often he wore a fake smile that would’ve fooled anyone else, but she’d seen the same smile on her own face too many times to ever think it was real.

“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about, they’ve offered their help to us. I think we could do it, Tikki and I talked it over, we both think it’s a good idea, especially if they can help from outside Paris. We could- “

Chat cut her off, “Ladybug, if you think it’s a good idea, I’ll support you. Have you given anymore thought to who would be able to take over as the Black Cat?”

“I don’t want another Black Cat.” She spoke softly watching as he fiddled with his ring.

“I know bugaboo.” Without any ceremony he pulled the ring off his finger, leaving Adrien Agreste in his spot. Plagg floated silently to the side looking more depressed than she’d ever seen the small cat god. “I can’t be a hero anymore. I’ve been a terrible friend, left someone I deeply care about on their own, and I’ve even betrayed you, my best friend, all because I couldn’t control my emotions. I don’t know your identity even if I got akumatized now I wouldn’t be able to tell Hawkmoth anything. I don’t have the strength to keep fighting him.” He slid his hand into hers forcing her to wrap her fingers around the silver ring.

“Please don’t leave me alone.” Her voice was smaller than she intended. She couldn’t do this alone. How many times had she had this nightmare? Now she was truly going to be alone. Even Chat was abandoning her.

“You’re not alone, if the Bat’s have offered their help take it. You don’t need me holding you back. You’ve always been stronger than any of the rest of us. You know Chloe’s sorry. She’s always avoided you after she was akumatized, but she’s changed a lot. She just doesn’t know how to apologize. I know it’s not the same as hearing it from her, but I figured at least now you know.”

Marinette sat staring at the ring in her hands letting the tears drip down silently. She felt numb, like no emotion rested under the surface. “Please take it back, keeping being Chat Noir, I’m not strong enough to do this alone.”

She felt a small vibration on her neck as she felt Plagg nuzzle himself as close as possible. Adrien pulled her into a tight hug but didn’t respond. There was no changing his mind, and now that she knew it was him, her first love, there was no way she could give it back. He’d abandoned her in class, an unfortunate pawn in the game Lila played. He was tangled up in her web held there in shackles by his father, unable to escape and help her. She wouldn’t be able to look at him the same. Instead they sat there in silence as she calmed her breathing and pushed all her feelings into a neat little box inside her heart, held under lock and key, to keep Hawkmoth from sensing her.

She wasn’t sure how long they sat there, but it was long enough that she’d begun to feel the wind nipping at her through her suit. It was at that point she pulled back, wiped her tears, and smiled, “You’ll always be my partner, even if you don’t want to be Chat Noir anymore.”

She helped him back to his house, allowed him to say his final goodbyes to Plagg, kissed his cheek and waving before darting off with ring still held tightly in her hand. She fell through her skylight onto her bed and dropped the transformation as she curled up and stared numb to everything around her. She heard Tikki gently guide Plagg away and pulled a blanket over her chosen before disappearing herself. Marinette stared at her pink walls until her eyes burned. Tomorrow she’d see Adrien at school and pretend that everything was fine. She’d walk past her parents and pretend that their words hadn’t hurt her. She’d meet with Nightwing and accept his help and pretend that she felt strong enough to keep going. At this point she was a master at pretending.

Morning came to quickly, and before her alarm had managed to wake her, she dragged herself into the shower and sat under the hot water trying to keep the chill from settling in her bones. She softly ushed Tikki and Plagg into her bag and made her way out the door. She didn’t even stop to say goodbye to her parents, she didn’t want to look at them and see the disappointment that never seemed to leave their faces. She wandered over to her favorite coffee shop, asking for twice her usual amount of caffeine, and made her way to a nearby jewelry shop that she’d visited a few times for her commissions. The woman who owned the shop was kind and helped made her ideas for accessories into reality. She quickly bought a chain necklace that was long enough to be hidden beneath her shirt and looped Plagg’s ring onto it before clipping it around her neck. It weighed heavily against her chest.

_Ping._

Her phone gave a soft chime and see looked down to see ‘The Favorite Brother’ displayed on her phone screen. She opened the message and for the first time today smiled. As alone as she felt the last few days were like finally getting to breath after being underwater for too long.

Tonight, she’d meet with Nightwing, and start working even harder towards catching Hawkmoth. Soon she’d be able to unlock all the emotions in her heart, and slowly start feeling them once she’s finally defeated him. She was determined not to let everyone’s faith in her be in vein.


	6. Chapter 6 - Damian

Nearly two months had passed since his family’s trip to Paris. Ladybug had graciously accepted their help although she maintained her stance that they could only help from outside of Paris until she trusted them enough to maintain their emotions while inside the country. She hadn’t asked for their civilian identities, only trusting that they’d honor their world not to remain any longer than necessary.

Damian had been furious at being left behind until he learned they all effectively been banned from the country pending Ladybugs approval. His father was quick to offer him up as one of the first to return to Paris once her trust in them grew. Damian was a master at suppressing his emotions. His time spent training in the League left no room for emotions to get in the way. Bruce recognized that although he didn’t want to encourage Damian to hide his emotions, he was their best chance at helping Ladybug in a more direct way.

For now, they helped track akumas through the city, and put together a comprehensive list of all citizens in the city. They were currently narrowing it down based on location and the few things they knew about Hawkmoth. He hardly appeared during fights, but they’d managed to eliminate a good percentage of the population already and soon they’d hoped to close in on his identity.

It was decided that once Christmas came and went Tim and Damian would be headed back to Paris to assist Ladybug directly in their fights. Only Robin would appear in battle unless Red Robin was absolutely needed, but the less Hawkmoth new about the Bats being in Paris the better. Damian was transferring to the school near Le Grand Paris where they’d all stayed initially.

In a strange turn of events Damian was pulled aside by his father when the decision to return to Paris was finalized. He awkwardly asked Damian to check in on a girl who went to the same school that he’d be transferring into. Marinette Dupain-Cheng; the same girl that his brothers couldn’t stop talking about since their return. Apparently, they’d all managed to meet her separately before Jason arranged for her to meet them all via prank war. She was quickly adopted into their family except on paper because apparently Bruce had already been told she had parents.

Tim was rubbing it all in their faces that he’d get to see Marinette again while the rest of them stayed home. Jason had tried to convince Bruce to send him instead and was quickly shot down. Alfred foiled Dick’s planes to book an extra plane ticket without Bruce’s knowledge. It seemed he was the only one in the family not currently obsessed with the Parisian girl. In fact, he slightly despised her, she was another thing his family shared that he wasn’t apart of, and it only made him slightly resentful. For Christmas she’d sent them all wonderfully made gifts, and it made him reconsider his stance on her. She must have asked his brothers for a recommendation for a gift but some how it had made him warm up to her without ever meeting her. He’d received a beautiful sketch book, and although it was standard the drawing inside the front cover was anything but. She sketched out all his animals with a simple quote in her own handwriting.

_“Until one has loved an animal, a part of one’s soul remains unawakened.”_

He’d traced over the delicate handwriting several times since he’d gotten it. Somehow, she’d managed to learn enough about him to know how much he valued his animals. Small gestures like that were made for them all without a thought. She didn’t seem to care about their status or trying to use them for personal gain.

In fact, his brothers were 99% certain that she wasn’t even aware they were the Wayne family. She’d shown no recognition when they’d all sat up in Le Grand Paris after Jason had attempted to prank them all by letting her in and claiming that she was their new sister. Apparently, he’d had Tim convinced that he’d managed to forget a whole other sibling in his haze before his morning coffee. Dick wasn’t fooled from the moment he saw her and instead had started hugging her rapidly chatting away like they were old friends. Tim had to go lay down after that.

Damian looked up from his sketch as the ding of the seatbelt sign sounded in the cabin. Tim was passed out in the seat next to him.

“Drake get up we’ll be landing soon.” He shook his brother’s shoulder and began packing up his things. Thankfully, their plane landed quickly and soon they were out of an overcrowded airport and in a taxi on their way to the hotel where they’d stay until their apartment was ready. They’d arrived after the new year, and just a few days for school began for the next semester.

Damian was attending Lycée Professionnel Gustave Eiffel while staying in Paris although he wasn’t looking forward to it. Apparently, he was being put into Marinette’s class and as one of the few upper level schools in the area he was going to be in all her classes. All his brothers spent their time boasting about her, even showing things off to Bruce on occasion, but he felt dread build in his stomach at finally meeting her. If he didn’t like her or she didn’t like him then it would be another person Damian was unable to get close to. He’d never admit it to anyone but himself, but Damian envied his brothers abilities to make genuine connections, but for him it was always a struggle. He’d been taught to never trust anyone other than himself, and that was still a hard habit to combat even with his own family. Worst of all if he did anything wrong there was no doubt that all his family would murder him for upsetting the girl.

The first day of school came sooner than he was ready for as he made his way to the classroom he’d been directed to. He was able to pick her out without really trying, he’d seen pictures that his brothers had shown him, but it was obvious since she did look exactly like someone Bruce would be willing to adopt. The dark hair alone was an obvious sign that Bruce’s serial adoption instincts couldn’t ignore.

No one even glanced in his direction as he walked through the door, class hadn’t begun yet, and the class was too busy trading stories of their holiday adventures to bother with the new kid. He saw most of the class hovering nearby a girl in orange who seemed to be enthusiastically telling a story about visiting Achu and spending time with her beloved Prince Ali.

He made no mention, but he’d met the Prince a few times, but never had he heard of him having a girlfriend. He filed it away into unnecessary information and stopped listening after that. He cursed his father one more time before sliding into the seat next to Marinette.

She gave him a sideways glance, and offered a nod of acknowledgment before returning to whatever book she was hunched over when he came in. He’d expected more of a reaction for the way he’d heard his brothers talk about her. They described her as lively and cheerful nothing at all like the quiet sullen girl currently sitting next to him.

The teacher strode in calling the class to attention. “Welcome back everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful break. As you may have noticed we have a new student, Damian please introduce yourself.”

He stood and gave a disarming smile to the class, “Hello my name is Damian I recently moved here with my brother from America.” He was glad they’d arranged to leave his last name out of public knowledge. Unless someone recognized him, no one would ever know there was a Wayne sitting in the classroom. Well no one he supposed beside Marinette, his eyes unconsciously slid to watch her as she effortlessly followed along with the teacher. He felt people glance at him periodically, many of them thought they were subtle, but he saw each of them. The girl from earlier he noticed paid little attention to the lesson instead focused on trying to get his attention on her. Each class passed slower than the last, and by the time lunch rolled around he felt like the day had been dragging on for longer than necessary.

“Oh Marinette, how could you be so rude to the new student! You haven’t even introduced yourself. Gosh what a horrible seatmate, maybe Damian should switch to the front row with me? I’m sure no one would mind rearranging the seating chart. After all I am the class representative.”

Marinette turned to face him, “Welcome to the class, I hope you feel welcome. I’m Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Nice to meet you.” She sent him a genuine smile before grabbing her bag and disappearing out of the room without waiting for a reply.

“Gosh she really is just so rude! Let me welcome you properly, my name is Lila Rossi the class representative, and if you need anything at all you can ask me!” She offered her hand with a smile that would’ve fooled most people, but he’d seen it before on the face of every woman who’d tried to earn a place at his side with a smile. She was a parasite, attaching herself to the newest shiniest thing in hopes to gain status or favor. He knew she was hoping for a kiss on her hand by the way she daintily held her hand out to him, instead of complying he grabbed his own bag standing as he did so.

“Thank you I assure you I’ll be perfectly fine there’s no need to worry. Please excuse me.” He left no room for argument as he strode out of the room ignoring the way her false smile turned to a glare.

He slipped through the groups of students standing around in the halls aimlessly chattering with each other until he found his way back out the front doors. He scanned the area to see if he could spot Marinette, but she’d disappeared faster than he’d expected. He hadn’t even meant to seek her out, but he was curious. She hadn’t been the way his brothers described, and he was irked that she was now an unknown.

He abandoned looking for her and found a quiet place to relax while the lunch hour passed. When he headed back to the classroom the girl in orange, Lila as she’d introduced herself earlier, was leaning against the wall just outside their classroom waiting for his return.

“Hi Damian! I talked with the teacher, and we felt it was best that you sit next to me while you’re getting settled in. As class representative- “

He smoothly cut her off, “Thank you but I’m sure I’ll manage fine. If I need any assistance, I’ll speak with the teacher myself.”

She glared at him before schooling her features into a look of concern, “Okay well just make sure you let someone know if Marinette begins bullying you. She’s been known to take her frustrations out on others. We didn’t want to say anything earlier since we try not to taint everyone view of her, but she just can’t seem to help herself. She’s constantly causing problems.” Her eyes slid from his face to right behind his shoulder, “Oh Marinette I’m glad your back on time today! I was just telling Damian here about your issues. I hope you don’t mind.”

Marinette appeared at his side scowling at the girl, a silent conversation passing between them. Without reply Marinette swept past them both and into the classroom. Damian made to follow until Lila stepped in front of him placing her hands on his chest, “Don’t let Marinette fool you. She seems kind when you first meet her, but she’ll quickly turn on you, just ask anyone in the class. They all used to be her friends but a few years she just snapped and starting bullying everyone.”

He stepped back walking around her, “I’m sure it has nothing to do with you lying to everyone, but I suppose we’ll see wont we?” He couldn’t find it in himself to care that he’d managed to make enemies on his first day of school.

He slid into his seat, “Remind me why I allowed my Father into talk me into joining my brother here?”

Marinette scoffed, “Last I heard you were volunteering to get away from Jason.”

“Well I suppose I can deal with Lila if it means being away from Todd and Grayson. At least Drake isn’t annoying, and easily bribed with coffee.” At least she wasn’t going to be horrible to sit next to for the rest of the year. Maybe he could even convince her to help him torture Drake while they’re in Paris.

They lapsed back into silence as the teacher began the next lesson. Damian was relieved. She didn’t immediately hate him, and at the very least she was more tolerable than anyone else he knew. Maybe he could even convince her to help him torture his brothers. 


End file.
